The Cottage Smallholder

Last night we were at a super party where the hostess had cooked a wonderful lamb tagine with squash, chick peas and spinach. It was intense, rich and delicious. She mentioned later that she hated the combination of fruit and meat.
“Apricots in a tagine will lift it and not overpower the dish.”
“I know that you can use anything seasonal but I just don’t want fruit.”
“Have you tried dried fruit?”

I love fruit and meat. Coincidentally, we had decided to try cooking belly of pork on a nest of plums the next day. I let the conversation waft around me, as I savoured the flavours of the tagine. The squash was an inspirational addition.

My mum presented me with a carrier bag of Victoria plums when I dropped off her shopping today. They were from a neighbour’s tree, overhanging her garden. There was a wicked look in her eye. She had enjoyed the bounty of her neighbour’s unwitting largess.
“I did examine the tree from my upstairs window and realised that 99% of the fruit was on my side. If you plant fruit trees, keep them well away from the fence.”

The just-ripe plums softened well underneath the pork during the four hour slow roasting. When I removed the fat (using our fat and lean sauceboat) they tasted mellow and meaty. Having liquidised the plums I added a teaspoonful of light soy sauce and a tablespoon of wine. This created a sauce to dance with. Perfect with the melt in the mouth pork, which was rich and succulent with the gentlest hint of plum.

This is our first variation on Danny’s slow roast belly of pork recipe. The plums added moisture to the meat. The crackling was crisp but not as deeply crunchy as D’s recipe. The plum sauce was really tasty.

We served this with basil infused mashed potato (recipe in a couple of days) and fresh runner beans from the garden. Clean clear tastes to counteract the richness of the pork.

Slow roast belly of pork on a nest of Victoria plums recipe

Ingredients:

• 1.5 k of belly of pork (get your butcher to score the rind and loosen the tips of the bones)
• 500 g of Victoria plums
• 2 tsp of light soy sauce
• 1 tbls of dry white wine
• Freshly ground white pepper for the sauce
• A decent sprinkle of salt to rub in the crackling

Method:

1. Set the oven to 160c (140c fan)
2. Rub 1 tsp of soy sauce into the base of the joint
3. Tear off a length of aluminium foil to house the plums and the joint (about 10cm larger than the joint) Pull up the sides to form a nest and arrange the plums in the foil
4. Place the joint on top of the foil and rub a sprinkling of salt into the crackling and form the foil into a snug nest around the joint, leaving the crackling exposed and ensuring that the fat from the crackling will drip into the foil nest. Roast at 140c for 3 hours and then turn down to 150c (130c fan) for another hour (4 hours!)
5. Remove the pork to a warm place to rest (cover it with foil and a thick towel to keep the heat in)
6. Meanwhile make the plum sauce. Remove the plum stones and drain off the liquid to a fat and lean sauceboat (or a small cold bowl). Allow the sauce to settle for a few minutes and pour off the fat. Add the plum/pork juice to the plums and liquidise with a hand blender. Transfer to a saucepan and add 1 tsp of light soy sauce and a tbsp of dry white wine. Heat gently for a few minutes to let the flavours blend. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground white pepper
7. When you want to carve the joint, turn it over and the bones should pull away easily making the join easier to carve.